From Epic to Canon
History and Literature in Ancient Israel
Johns Hopkins University Press · Print & ebook · November 21, 2000
Winner of the Centennial Book Award from the Tuttleman Family Foundation of Gratz College In From Epic to Canon, Frank Moore Cross discusses specific issues that illuminate central questions about the Hebrew Bible and those who created and preserved it.
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- Who it’s for
- Frank Moore Cross examines how kinship, covenant, and social structures shaped ancient Israel’s institutions.
- Themes
- Kinship and covenant, Ancient Israelite social structures, Covenant and codified law
- Genres
- Old Testament Studies, Old Testament Interpretation, Pentateuch Studies
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Winner of the Centennial Book Award from the Tuttleman Family Foundation of Gratz College In From Epic to Canon, Frank Moore Cross discusses specific issues that illuminate central questions about the Hebrew Bible and those who created and preserved it. He challenges the persistent attempt to read Protestant theological polemic against law into ancient Israel.
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Cross uncovers the continuities between the institutions of kinship and of covenant, which he describes as "extended kinship." He examines the social structures of ancient Israel and reveals that beneath its later social and cultural accretions, the concept of covenant—as opposed to codified law—was a vital part of Israel's earliest institutions. He then draws parallels between the expression of kinship and covenant among the Israelites and that practiced by other ancient societies, as well as in primitive societies.
Kinship and Covenant
Frank Moore Cross examines how kinship, covenant, and social structures shaped ancient Israel’s institutions.
Come here for
- Cross’s account of covenant as extended kinship
- Parallels with other ancient societies
Expect
- A challenge to reading Protestant polemic against law into ancient Israel
- Comparisons between Israelite and other societies’ expressions of kinship and covenant
Where it sits
| Old Testament Interpretation | 61% |
|---|---|
| Old Testament Studies | 44% |
| Pentateuch Studies | 19% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Old Testament Commentary
- Authors
- Frank Moore Cross
- Publisher
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Published
- November 21, 2000
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Kinship and covenant · Ancient Israelite social structures · Covenant and codified law
- Reading lane
- Old Testament Commentary